Radioactive leak at Torness investigated

An investigation is under way following a radioactive leak at the Torness nuclear power station in Scotland.

Health and safety officials were alerted after the problem at the plant, which is 20 miles from Northumberland, 30 miles east of Edinburgh and is a familiar sight to travellers on the A1 road and the East Coast Mainline railway. was found during a routine inspection.

The incident was one of three reported to ministers from UK plants which are now under investigation by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR).

Groundwater at the Dunbar plant was found to be contaminated with radioactive tritium, which was leaking from two pipelines.

All three incidents occurred in February and are still under investigation by ONR - the government’s nuclear safety watchdog.

They were serious enough to be reported to ministers under safety guidelines agreed after the Chernobyl accident in Ukraine 25 years ago.

According to the ONR, the response to the incidents from the companies that run the plants was ‘appropriate’.

The pipelines at Torness were put out of use after the leak was discovered.

A spokeswoman for EDF Energy, the French company which operates Torness, said there had never been any danger to staff or the public, and that the levels of radioactivity that leaked were “extremely low.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) added: “SEPA was informed by British Energy Generation Limited (BEGL) in February 2011 that routine sampling had detected a very small leak in a pipe leading to raised level of tritium in a limited area of groundwater.

“The leak has been stopped and the levels of tritium in the ground water are returning towards normal levels.

“SEPA has investigated the matter and has requested that BEGL carry out further work on the pipe system to demonstrate its integrity in the longer term. This work is due to be completed later this year.

“The matter was discussed at the local liaison group meeting on March 23 which SEPA attended.”

The two-reactor plant began generating in May 1988 and is now over half-way through its expected lifespan.

Torness is expected to be decommissioned by around 2023.

With an electrical output of 1250 MW, Torness is capable of supplying power to 1.5million homes and is one of the biggest employers in the region, with more than 500 staff.